Symphony Of 1000 Becomes A Reality, Is Largest Orchestra Ever Assembled In California

Maestro and Conductor Michael Neumann leads the Symphony of 1000 in Memorial Auditorium Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014. A video image of Neumann was part of the staging, assisting musicians in the back of the hall to see the conductor.

Al Gibes / Capital Public Radio

Maestro Michael Neumann's vision of putting together an orchestra of 1,000 musicians came to fruition Sunday, when Memorial Auditorium was filled with the sounds of Sousa, Dvorak, Strauss, Beethoven and other composers.

Capital Public Radio "At the Opera" host Sean Bianco was the event coordinator and Insight host Beth Ruyak was the emcee. Bianco said the group was the largest-ever assembly of symphony musicians to perform in California. He added that a symphony of 7,000 performed recently in Australia, leaving the door open for a symphony of 10,000 in the future.

The concert included the following pieces:

Anthem Medley

Colonel Bogey March - Alford

Stars and Stripes Forever - Sousa

Great Gate of Kiev - Moussorgsky, arr. Reibold

Fandango - Rimsky - Korsakov, arr. Isaac

New World Symphony - Dvorak, arr. Meyer

Prelude from Carmen Suite - Bizet, arr. Kriechbaum

Hallelujah Chorus - Handel, arr. J. Isaac/R. Suleiman

Can-Can - Offenbach, arr. Meyer

Aragonaise from Carmen - Bizet, arr. Meyer

Radetzky March - J. Strauss, arr. Meyer

Ode to Joy - Beethoven, arr. D.R. Bellwood

The performance was recorded for broadcast by Access Sacramento, and will be available at a later date.

Al was the Digital Strategy Director and sometimes photographer. He oversaw the digital channels at the station, including the mobile application and social media content. His background includes stints as a newspaper photojournalist and columnist. Read Full Bio